Back in 2008 the NBC series "Heroes" filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch

This photo of Heroes Tower from 2008, painted up for a shoot for the NBC series "Heroes," ran in a recent post about Wyatt Earp with a Gatling gun, because "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" shot in the same location many years earlier. But I wanted to show readers more of the 2008 shoot for "Heroes."

"Heroes" episode "One of Us, One of Them" (premiered Sept. 29, 2008)

This shot from the third episode of season three of "Heroes" gives some idea of what was going on in the area during the shoot for the offbeat NBC superheroes drama series. Heroes Tower appears again here, at top right. In this shot actor Greg Grunberg, who played Matt Parkman on the show, examines a series of unexplained paintings on the rocks. With these wide-format shots, I recommend clicking on the photo to view a larger version.

Another shot from season three, episode three of "Heroes," titled "One of Us, One of Them," offers a better look at Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman, his face showing the effects of overexposure to the African sun. Behind him at top right is the familiar overhanging portion of Hangover Rock.

This version of the "Heroes" shot identifies Hangover Rock. The Iverson footage ran intermittently throughout season three, with much of the shooting done just below Hangover Rock.

Here's what the "Heroes" set looked like on a site visit in 2008. The African hut in the foreground was built for the TV show.

This version of the 2008 photo pinpoints the portion of Hangover Rock that creates the silhouette behind Greg Grunberg in the "Heroes" shot.

Another version of the 2008 site visit photo identifies a few key features. Built in about 1928, the building known as the Old Folks' House is where Iverson Movie Ranch founders Karl and Augusta Iverson lived out their retirement years. The structure, which was not used as a movie set, stood for some 80 years before being leveled by the Sesnon Fire, also known as the Porter Ranch Fire, in fall 2008.

"Heroes" episode "Eris Quod Sum" (premiered Oct. 27, 2008)

This shot from the seventh episode of season three shifts the angle a bit from the previous shot. Here we can again see the African hut, and above it much of the span of Hangover Rock.

Back to the episode titled "One of Us, One of Them," this shot provides a look at the entrance to the hut. The character in the doorway is the mysterious Usutu, played by Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine.

In this shot from a visit to the site in mid-2008, we get a glimpse of the Old Folks' House a couple of months before it burned down. That's it near the top right corner, partially hidden behind a large boulder.

Here's what the Old Folks' House looked like in the aftermath of the Sesnon Fire. In the background is a portion of the western San Fernando Valley.

Another view of the debris of the Old Folks' House includes Heroes Tower in the background, toward the right. Also visible here is an example of the graffiti that has been a problem in some areas of the former Iverson Movie Ranch.

This version of the previous shot points out Heroes Tower in the background, along with the graffiti.

"Heroes" episode "It's Coming" (premiered Nov. 17, 2008)

Other characters arrive in the "Heroes" area at Iverson during the course of the third season, but for the most part everyone eventually just wants to get out of there. Usutu, meanwhile, meets an unpleasant fate. (His body is seen near the center of the frame.)

"Heroes," which was canceled in 2010 after four seasons, is expected to be revived by NBC in 2015 as a 13-episode miniseries, "Heroes: Reborn." You can click here to read more about the 2008 "Heroes" shoot in a previous post about one of Ray Harryhausen's "dynamation" monsters.

Below are a couple of Amazon links for "Heroes" on DVD and Blu-ray ...

Devil's Pass, Vultura's Pass and another look at everyone's favorite Wookiee from "Star Wars"

Chewbacca — rising above Devil's Pass (aka Vultura's Pass)

It's high time I update my blog entry from a few years ago on the Iverson rock I call Chewbacca.

Not everyone sees the resemblance between the rock and the beloved "Star Wars" Wookiee (often spelled Wookie), but it popped out at me the first time I saw the rock in person. Your mileage may vary, and I hope I get comments on whether readers see it or not.

"The Lone Ranger" TV show: episode "Devil's Pass" (1950)

The rock is located in a section of the former Lower Iverson I call Devil's Pass. The name comes from the title of an episode of the TV show "The Lone Ranger" that originally aired May 25, 1950. In the above screen shot from the episode "Devil's Pass," the Lone Ranger and Tonto are seen riding west through the pass.

Chewbacca is out of the picture, but would be up high on the right. Directly above Tonto's head is an often filmed rock known as Hangover Rock, which you may want to enlarge the photo (by clicking on it) to get a better look at. (You can find another shot of Hangover Rock at the bottom of this post.)

The same pass is also known as "Vultura's Pass," as it was the location of Vultura's Palace, seen above, in the seminal 1942 Republic serial "The Perils of Nyoka." The pass today remains on private property and is difficult to access other than looking at it over the brick wall that now separates this spot from the nearby condos. Some of the rocks in the above two shots are the same — you may be able to match up the rocks in the above photo that are just above the roof of the palace, near the center-top of the photo, with the same pair of rocks in the "Lone Ranger" shot, near the top-left corner. It's two rocks separated by a curved crack, and if I only had a dime for every time I've heard that expression.

Here's a shot of the evil Vultura, played by Adrian Booth — also known as Lorna Gray — posing for a publicity still for "The Perils of Nyoka" at the Iverson Movie Ranch, courtesy of Western movie expert Jerry England.

Another early shot of Lorna Gray/Adrian Booth, who apparently is still going strong at 95 — it wasn't that long ago, just a few years, that I went to an event in Hollywood to hear the longtime Republic Pictures star reminisce about the studio's Golden Age. Does she have stories!

"Buffalo Bill Rides Again" (1947)

Meanwhile, back at the Pass — Devil's or Vultura's — this is the view from a sniper's outpost up next to Chewbacca, looking west with the Upper Gorge in the background. The riders are entering the west end of the pass, arriving from the north, and will head roughly east. The screen shot comes from the Richard Arlen/Jennifer Holt B-Western "Buffalo Bill Rides Again."

Like most rocks, Chewbacca's appearance changes as it's viewed from different angles and in different light. Sadly, the thing has been hit with a little graffiti, something that has been a bit of a problem on the former Iverson Movie Ranch. It's most evident in the photo at the top of this post.

You might not think this prehistoric-looking thing is the same rock, but it is. Lighting makes a big difference, as illustrated by this shot of Chewie later in the day. Most of the character's "face" is in shade here.

This side of the rock reminds me of something out of the Broadway show "Cats."

There's that brick wall I mentioned, toward the right and down the hill. This is Devil's Pass in recent years, looking more or less southwest. On the other side of the wall are hundreds of condos.

Here's a better look at Hangover Rock, which is also seen in the third photo from the top, above. The precarious-looking feature marks the eastern end of Devil's Pass/Vultura's Pass. The African hut seen in this shot from the summer of 2008 was a set for the NBC TV series "Heroes." Partially visible in the background at the right is a non-movie house that was known as the "Old Folks' House," where Karl and Augusta Iverson, the founders of the Iverson Movie Ranch, lived in their later years. The house burned down just a few months after this photo was taken, in the 2008 Porter Ranch Fire.



NBC's series "Heroes" shot at Iverson for an Africa storyline that was a part of season three.

The many faces of Hangdog

Hangdog, on the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch

One of my favorite characters on the site of the former Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., is Hangdog, situated in the "Above Nyoka" area of the Lower Iverson. Not unlike many of the Iverson features, Hangdog has a split personality. I see it as sort of a lion on the left, Labrador retriever on the right. 

Hangdog also hosts a few smaller players, including a monkey head that lives in the Lab's eyebrow and a "mini-Hangdog," partially hidden behind a bush in this photo, down below the monkey head. You may be able to see these features better if you click on the photo for a larger view; you can also see "Mini-Hangdog" better in the photo at the bottom of this post.

That house in the background, known as the Old Folks' House, is where the original owners of the Iverson Movie Ranch lived for years. It burned down during the Porter Ranch Fire (also known as the Sesnon Fire) in October 2008. The Ruins, at bottom right, are one of the many mysteries that remained at Iverson well beyond the filming era.

The Ruins, with Hangdog, in 2008 (Bill Rock and Cactus Hill in background)

An estimated 3,500 movies and TV show episodes were shot on the ranch, mostly from the heyday of the B-Western through the early years of the TV Western, from the 1930s through the 1950s. I've been scanning old productions for a few years now trying to find the rocks and buildings of the Iverson Ranch, but it appears that the mysterious stone structure I call the Ruins was never used in the filming.

Hangdog, in recent times

I have a number of other posts on the blog about Hangdog, but I'd like to point you to one in particular, focusing on an especially cool appearance by Hangdog in the 1941 Republic serial "Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc." Please click here to see that entry. Otherwise, check the long index at the right of the page for more about Hangdog, or click here to see a compilation of Hangdog-related entries.